portsideMod
October 8, 2001
A copy of the resolution is available at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/portside/message/1481
Comment: It has often been said that unions oppose single payer reform because they would lose a bargaining chip that might otherwise be used to promote union membership. Apparently the Florida AFL-CIO believes that the health of all residents of the state is more important.
Mark Hannay, Director, Metro New York Health Care for All Campaign:
Don’s suggestion of moving right to the negotiating table is a fine idea, except that it presumes that we are being invited, that there’s a chair for us there, and that the convenors of the table care about and want to hear what we have to say re: health care. Unfortunately, at the current point in time the political reality is that none of the above is true. We are going to have to force ourselves to the table, and the only way to force them to extend an invitation to us is if we create enough political noise and clout that they cannot afford to ignore us. What this means is that one of our very first steps MUST be to *build a broad movement*, centered around the demand for action in this area, centered around a set of principles which embodies but does not lay out a specific policy formulation on which many heretofore disparate forces can agree. I invite all to the UHCAN conference next month in Baltimore to join us in that renewing that objective. Full info at: http://www.uhcan.org
Mark Hannay